Drawhook toggle latch



July 5, 1966 E. G. GRlFFlTl-is 3,259,411

DRAWHOOK TOGGLE LATCH Filed Deo. 17, 1963 BYWMW United States Patent O 3,259,411 DRAWHOOK TOGGLE LATCH Edward G. Gritlths, Franklin Lakes, NJ., assigner to Camloc Fastener Corporation, Paramus, NJ., a corporation of New York Filed Dec. 17, 1963, Ser. No. 331,192 6 Claims. (Cl. 292-113) My invention relates to a toggle latch and more particularly to an improved drawhook toggle latch which is lighter and less expensive than are latches of the prior art designed for the same load.

Many types of latches are known in the prior art. One particular kind of latch known in the prior art for securing two members in assembled relationship is a toggle latch in which `a drawhook is pivotally supported on a pin carried by a handle rotatably mounted in a supporting bolt on one of the two members to be assembled. When a latch of this type is operated, the drawhook is brought into engagement with a clevis bolt on the other member and the handle is operated to move the drawhook pivot pin up behind the mounting bolt to provide the required toggle action. In a latch assembly of this type the load is carried by the drawhook. In the prior art in order that this load be translated to the two primary load-carrying members, the handle mounting bolt and the clevis bolt, the pin and associated structure which pivotally support the drawhook on the handle must be stoutly constructed, thus adding to the cost of the lat-ch.

I have invented an improved drawhook toggle latch wherein the load on the drawhook is directly applied to the two primary load-carrying members. My improved drawhook toggle latch is lighter in construction than are toggle latches of the prior art adapted to carry the same load. My improved drawhook toggle latch is less eX- pensive to manufacture than are toggle latches of the prior art.

One object of my invention is to provide an improved drawback toggle latch in which the load on the drawhook is applied directly to the clevis bolt and to the handle mounting bolt.

Another object of my invention is to provide an improved drawhook toggle latch which is lighter in construction than are toggle latches of the prior art adapted to carry the same load.

A further object of my invention is to provide an improved drawhook toggle latch which is less expensive to construct than are toggle latches of the prior art.

Other and further objects of my invention will appear from the following description.

In general my invention contemplates the provision of an improved drawhook toggle latch for securing two members together wherein the drawhook engages the handle mounting bolt spacer as the drawhook is placed under tension so that the load on the drawhook is applied directly between the clevis bolt on one of the members and the handle mounting bolt on the other of the two members. When my latch is opened the drawhook clears the mounting bolt spacer.

In the accompanying drawings which form part of the instant specification and which are to be read in conjunction therewith and in which like reference numerals are used to indicate like parts in the various views:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary plan view of two mem- `bers connected by my improved drawhook toggle latch.

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation of my improved drawhook toggle latch with parts broken away and with other parts shown in section.

FIGURE 3 is a sectional View of my improved drawhook toggle latch with the parts shown in the released position.

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Referring now to the drawings, my latch may be used to secure a rst member 10 in assembled relationship with a second member 12. Member 12 may carry a clevis indicated generally by the referencecharacter 14 having arms 16 which carry the clevis bolt 18. I secure Ka pair of handle mounting bolt support brackets 20 and 22 to the member 10 by any suitable means, such as by welding or the like. Brackets 20 and 22 carry the latch handle mounting bolt 24. It will readily be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the clevis bolt 18 and the handle mounting bolt 24 are the two primary load carrying elements when the members 10 and 12 are secured to each other.

My improved drawhook toggle latch has a handle 26 provided with side flanges 28 and 30 which carry a mounting bolt spacer 32 through which the bolt 24 eX- tends when the handle 26 is mounted on the brackets 20 and 22. Member 10 is formed with an opening 34 in which the handle 26 nests in the closed position. It will readily be appreciated that this ilush type mounting is merely one particular application of my improved drawhook toggle latch. Moreover, the provision of a separate spacer 32 is not essential. The handle 26 could be mounted directly on bolt 24.

The side flanges 28 and 30 of the handle 26 carry a pin 38 which loosely supports the drawhook 40 of my latch for pivotal movement thereon. More particularly, the pin 38 passes through a pair of bifurcations 42 and 44 formed on one end of the drawhook 40. A spring 46 carried by the pin 38 bears with one end against the underside of handle 26 and with its other end Iagainst a pin 48carried by the bifurcation 42. It will readily be understood that spring 46 normally tends to rotate the handle 26 in the drawhook 40 away from each other.

I provide my .toggle latch with a catch 50 pivotally supported on a pin 52 carried by the anges 28 and 30 of handle 26, A spring 54 on the pin 52 bears with one end against the underside of handle 26 and with its other end against the underside of catch Sti. Spring 54 acts on the catch 50 normally to urge the catch to move to a position at which it rests `in an `opening 56 formed. in handle 26. Catch 50 is formed with a hook 58 adapted to engage a pin 60 on the drawhook 40.

I shape the drawhook 40 to provide a surface 62 which engages the spacer 32 as soon as a tension load is applied to the drawhook 4t). The loose mounting of the drawhook on the pin 38 ensures that the surface 62 clears spacer 32 when the latch is released.

In operation :of my improved drawhook toggle latch with the parts in the open position shown in FIGURE 3, drawhook 40 is positioned so that it rests on the bolt 18 of the clevis 14. In order to secure the members 10 and 12 together, handle 26 is rotated `in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIGURE 3. In the course of this movement, the handle rotates around bolt 24 and pin 38 moves in a clockwise position up behind the bol-t 2-4. 'In the course of this movement, drawhook 40 moves to the left as viewed in FIGURE 3 and a tension load is applied 'to the drawhook. As the drawhook moves to the left tothe position shown in FIGURE 2, the surface 62 moves up behind spacer 32 and as the drawhook 40 is placed und-er tension, the surface 62 contacts ythe spacer 32.

Ultimately the hook 58 of the catch 50 rides over the pin 60 to Ilock the latch in its closed position. In this position of the parts, the tension load on the drawhook 40 is applied directly to the clevis bolt 18 and to the bolt 24 by virtue of the engagement of surface 62 with the spacer 32 on the bolt 24. Owing to this fact, the pin 38 which mounts the drawhook 40 on the handle 26 need not transmit the load to the handle 26 and ultimately .to the bolt 24. For this reason I use a light pin 38 which loosely supports the drawhook 40 on the handle 26.

When it is desired to release the members and 12, catch 50 is pressed adjacent the le-fthand side, as viewed in the drawings, to rotate the catch in a counterclockwise direction against the action of spring 54 to move hook 58 out of engagement wit-h the pin 60. When this occurs, spring 46 urges the handle 26 away from the drawhook 40 so that the handle moves up out of the opening 34 to a position at which it is accessible. Then the handle is moved in a counterclockwise direction `to move the drawhook out of engagement with the bolt 18. It is to be understood that the loose connection between the pin 38 and the drawhook bifurcations 42 and 44 ensures that the surface 62 clears the mounting bolt spacer 32 as the latch is released.

It will be seen that I have accomplished the objects of my invention. I have provided an improved drawhook toggle latch wherein the load on `the latch is applied directly between rthe two primary load-carrying members in the closed position of the latch. My improved drawhook .toggle latch is lighter in construction than are latches of the prior art which carry the same load. My latch is less expensive to construct .than are latches of the prior art.

It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of utility and maybe employe-d without reference to other features and subcornbinations. This `is contemplated by and is within the scope of my claims. It is further obvious that various changes ymay be made in ldetails within the scope of my claims without departing from the spirit of my invention. It is, therefore, to be understood that my `invention is not to be limited to the specific details shown and described.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A latch securing two bodies carrying primary loadabsorbing element-s including in combination a handle, means mounting said handle on one of said bodies for movement between a release position and a home position, a drawhook, means loosely mounting said drawhook for pivotal movement on said handle with lost motion during movement in response to movement of said handle between a rst lposition at which said drawhook is out of engagement with a load-absorbing element of the other body and a second position at which it engages said other body load-carrying element, said handle and said drawhook mounting means forming a toggle mechanism whereby said drawhook is tensioned as it moves to said second position in Iresponse to movement of said handle toits horne position, and an abutment on said drawhook forming a sunface for positively engaging a load-absorbing element -on said one body as said drawhook is tensioned, said abutment being positioned so that the said loada'bs'orbing element on said one body absorbs the tension applied to said drawhook by said load-absorbing element of said other body.

2. A latch securing two bodies respectively carrying a mounting bolt and a strike including in combination a handle, means for pivotally mounting said handle on said bolt, a drawhook, means loosely mounting said drawhook on said handle with lost motion during movement in response .to movement of said handle between a rst position at which said drawhook is out olf engagement with said strike and a second position at which said drawhook engages said strike to tension said drawhook, and an abutment on said drawhook providing a surface for positively engaging said handle mounting means as said drawhook moves to said second position to apply said tension between said bolt and said strike when said drawhook is moved to said second position, said abutment being so positioned that said handle mounting means absorbs tension applied to said drawhook by said strike.

3. A latch securing two bodies having load-carrying elements thereon including in combination a handle, a drawhook, means loosely mounting said drawhook for pivotal movement on said handle, a sleeve` mounting said handle on the load-carrying element of one of said bodies for movement of said drawhook between a rst position at which it engages the other body load-carrying element and a second position at which said drawhook is out of engagement with said other body load-carrying element, and a surface on said drawhook for positively engaging said sleeve as said drawhook moves to said rst position, said surface being positioned so that said load-carrying element on said one olf said bodies absorbs a load applied on said drawhook by said other body load-carrying element.

4. A latch securing two bodies carrying primary loadabsorbing elements .thereon including in combination a handle pivotally mounted on one of said bodies, a drawhook, means loosely mounting said drawhook on said handle with lost motion during movement in response to movement of said handle between a rst position at which said hook is out of engagement with the load-absorbing element on the other of said bodies and a position at which said hook engages said other body load-absorbing element to tension said drawhook in the direction of the length thereof, said drawhook comprising means independent of its mounting means for applying force in av direction generally parallel to the direction of said tension to said one body load-absorbing element as said drawhook is tensioned.

S. A latch securing two bodies having primary loadcarrying elements thereon including in combination an element-engaging member, means loosely mounting said latch member on one of said bodies for movement between a rst position at which it is out of engagement with the load-carrying element on the other body and a position at which a portion thereof engages said other body load-carrying element to place said member under tension in the direction of the length thereof, said member comprising -means independent of said mounting means for applying force in a direction -generally parallel to the direction of said tension to said one body load-carrying element as said member is placed under such tension.

6. A |latch for securing two bodies having load-carrying elements .thereon including in combination an elementengaging latch member, means mounting said member on one of said 4bodies for movement between a first position at which it is out of engagement with the load-carrying element on the other of said bodies and a second position at which a portion of said member engages said ot-her body load-carrying element to place said member under tension in t-he direction of the length thereof and a surface on said member for applying force in a direction generally parallel 4t-o the direction of said tension to said one body load-carrying element as said member moves to said second position.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,538,385 1/1951 Schurman 292-113 2,712,955 7/ 1955 Andrews 292-113 2,904,141 9/ 1959 Henrichs 292-113 FOREIGN PATENTS 117,26'1 9/ 1946 Sweden.

PATRICK A. CLIFFORD, Primary Examiner.

M. HENSON WOOD, JR., JOSEPH D. SEERS,

Examiners.

J. R. MOSES, Assistant Examiner. 

6. A LATCH FOR SECURING TWO BODIES HAVING LOAD-CARRYING ELEMENTS THEREON INCLUDING IN COMBINATION AN ELEMENTENGAGING LATCH MEMBER, MEANS MOUNTING SAID MEMBER ON ONE OF SAID BODIES FOR MOVEMENT BETWEEN A FIRST POSITION AT WHICH IT IS OUT OF ENGAGEMENT WITH THE LOAD-CARRYING ELEMENT ON THE OTHER OF SAID BODIES AND A SECOND POSITION AT WHICH A PORTION OF SAID MEMBER ENGAGES SAID OTHER BODY LOAD-CARRYING ELEMENT TO PLACE SAID MEMBER UNDER TENSION IN THE DIRECTION OF THE LENGTH THEREOF AND A 